


Butterfly

by Moonwanderer



Series: IronStrange [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Butterflies, IronStrange, Love, M/M, Magic, Sad and Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 07:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15407898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonwanderer/pseuds/Moonwanderer
Summary: The symbol of their love.Could be seen as a standalone or a sequel to "Blue".





	Butterfly

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a native speaker, so mistakes may be found.  
> I do not own the characters, etc., etc.,...
> 
> Ps: I am so sorry...

When Tony felt sad, Stephen conjured a swarm of butterflies- palyful and shining blue- to make them fly on his nose and thus made him laugh.

When there were so much darkness in the world, and horrible, terrible things happened, Stephen held him close and the butterflies appeared again, to show him beauty and light: things worth protecting.

Those butterflies showed up first in battle, when the world was close to its end and Stephen needed faith, which Tony was willing to offer. The second time was when the sorcerer got hurt trying to save the other man, and Tony stayed at his side, waiting for him to wake. He gave him blood and refused to leave and by the third dawn Stephen defeated death and one tiny, shimmering butterfly presaged his return.

After that, Tony took Stephen to a place surrounded by mountains, far from the world, quiet and calm. They spent the time in the fields, where the grass grew dark and long. Big, dark blue butterflies were soaring lazily in the air, children of the wilderness; and tiny, shining blue ones joined them, as the magician brought them into life. They could spend the whole day out there, with Tony resting his head on the other man’s chest as long, shaking fingers caressed his back, and they marvelled the dance of the swarm of blue.

That was the place they visited when the world was too loud and things were too much to bear. That was the place where they decided to live their lives together.

Those butterflies became the symbol of their love.

When Stephen had to go to a mission to a galaxy far-far away, he hid thousands of those little butterflies in different places in the Sanctum; and left a couple of notes for his lover, instructions written on them. One of them was for an ocassion when Tony had a bad day, and as he followed the words, he came across a seal on a bookcase. His touch opened up the magical lock, and the next moment he was showered with shimmering blue.

Another one was made for a more severe episode „in case of a panic attack, grab the ring and think of me”. And as Tony bolted up one night, heart racing, chest tight, covered in sweat, the dark of the room lit up with a soft blue sheen.

With this spell, his lover was never alone, his faith never faltering in their love. And when Stephen returned home, he found his beloved surrounded by those fragile creatures, and Tony hugged him so tight, laughing and crying at the same time, his tears salty wetness on Stephen’s skin.

Tony was loyal to him, brought so much joy in his life, and Stephen loved him more than anything in the universe. Their bond was fierce and unshakeable, filled with banters and snarky arguaments, not a single boring moment in between. Both of them were broken, but they were willing to cure and to heal, never leaving each other behind.

Stephen learned to be patient, and how to get his faith back in science, as he watched his lover build and listened to him planning a new future. And Tony vowed to know about magic (or science-I-yet-don’t-know, as he called it in his mind) and after the sorcerer helped him got over his initial distrust, he was more than eager to practice it himself.

After all the time, „butterflying” was the only spell Tony could learn, and it made him so happy it made Stephen’s heart aching. Tony was his butterfly: fragile and free, and there was no other thing in the whole world, which could make him happier.

Decades they spent together, sometimes separated but never alone, fighting for what’s right, while their bond deepend with every day. When Stephen fell ill, Tony sat beside him and conjured tiny blue butteflies to see his sorcerer smile again.

Decades flew over their life. Duty had a prominent part, for Tony the drive to invent new things wich can ease the pain in the world, for Stephen to guard the Secrets of Time. They vowed to each other after their first big argument, that they will never let duty become more important than their bond.

And still, it was Stephen, who broke this vow. For after all those years spent protecting it, Time decided against him and robbed him of his beloved.

He was standing in the middle of their field, alone for the first time, and watched those big, beautiful, dark blue butterflies fluttering under the Sun. Their wings touched his cheek gently, wrinkled by age and wet with tears. He reached out for them, aching for the sight of those tiny little blue ones, but he could conjure butterflies no more.

**Author's Note:**

> Please, feel free to leave a comment!  
> Negative comments or comments of displeasure are also welcome, you can help me improve by pointing out my mistakes.


End file.
